


Counting Stars

by Hornet394



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, M/M, seriously they don't even kiss, some religious talk, the thing is a bit rushed i'm really sorry, very vanilla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-17 16:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11855163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hornet394/pseuds/Hornet394
Summary: Jongin falls from the sky, and Kyungsoo is spit out from the underworld. The human world is dangerous for Jongin - to Kyungsoo? It's wayyyyy too cold. They team up to figure out a way to get back to their respective worlds - at least, they try to.





	Counting Stars

**Author's Note:**

> #125  
> The Prompt: It’s a historical, prophesied pandemic that shakes every aspect of the tangible and intangible world. All the angels are falling from heaven, their wings becoming darkened or silvered, while the evil spirited are being forced above ground to join in, unexpectedly and unwillingly. God and the Devil are unreachable, and the mortals are terrified.

~~When the skies and the grounds were one~~ When the sky and the ground cracks open, Jongin is fast asleep.

He’s hugging Eris, his favourite cloud, to his chest when the surface he is on splits apart. He tumbles down to earth with a resounding thud, landing smack on his face in the bustling streets of Seoul.

Hmph... the ground is also a very good bed...

Said bed starts to rumble, and the screaming starts.

Gosh, why are humans so loud?

Jongin beats his wings to get himself off the ground. It seems much tiring to do so, but that might be because of the gravity. Through bleary eyes, he looks around.

Seoul is just like he had imagined, with tall, towering buildings and cute human beings running around. But wait, what are the fissures in the ground?

In a panic he flies up higher, when fellow angels start surrounding him in the air. “What happened?” Someone shouts, but Jongin’s gaze fixates on his own wings, the tips of it entering the periphery of his vision every now and then.

To get a closer look, he grabs his left wing to bring it up closer to his eyes, conveniently forgetting that he’s in mid-air. He plummets.

This time, his arm hits the ground first and a hot, searing pain rides up. But Jongin also gets a closer look at his wings. His grey, brittled, ugly wings. Jongin is going to start crying.

“Dude, are you okay?” Someone holds out a hand. Jongin raises a hand to take it, letting a “thank you” slip off his lips. As soon as their fingers touch, the other guy suddenly drops his hand, leaving Jongin to grab at empty air. 

Startled, Jongin looks up to find a scaly, reptilian face is grinning at him.

Oh fuck fuck fuck.

He rolls out of the way just as the demon’s spiky tail goes and slams right into the ground that Jongin had been on, splitting the cement. He takes to the skies, and it’s chaos. His fellow angels with their greying wings are clashing with the demons.

A fellow Cherub stretches his arms out to call upon his heavenly bow and quiver, but before they can fully materialize, a bat-shaped demon has latched onto the angel, teeth tearing away at the angel’s chest.

Jongin runs away.

As he flies away, he can see fissures appearing all over the earth spitting demons out, and they land on the ground not unlike how he fell from the heavens. There is blood everywhere, humans caught in the crossfire along with the angels and demons. 

Jongin has to stop and vomit. He lands on the rooftop of a still intact glass building, and despite having nothing in his stomach, mucus forcibly ejects out of his mouth.

He retches and retches and almost slips into his own vomit. He looks around, seeing a group of people huddling together near the door connected to the building, their eyes wide and scared.

Then the first rock hits him. Part of the roof had been reduced to rubble, and there’s a young, defiant human soul glaring straight at him.

Jongin runs away again.

He pushes open the door of the rooftop, and trips over the steps, tumbling facefirst downwards. A sudden rumble, and then the ceiling collapses on top of him.

Fuck, cement is really hard.

His arms are weak from years and years of sleeping, but his superhuman strength is enough for him to push away the blocks until he sees sunlight and can breathe properly.

“Ah fuck fuck fuck fuck!” he curses. He feels like he’s broken some bones, but they’re knitting back together. Some rustling, and Jongin’s eyes snap open in fear as some of the cement are moved away by someone else.

_Nightmare eyes._

“You’ve got quite a potty mouth for an angel,” the two gigantic orbs say.

Jongin screams.

Immediately, the looming eyes flinch back, which is when Jongin notices that thee eyes are a part of someone’s face. 

“That’s rude,” the other figure frowns. “What kind of angel are you?”

Jongin trails his frightened gaze over the the other, who resembles a man. They have big, normal eyes, short hair, thick lips. They’re also short in stature, too. Behind the demon is a slender tail of intimidating length, swaying low, its rough spikes scraping lightly against the ground.

Fuck. His. Life.

“Jongin-” he croaks out.

The demon frowns dangerously. “What’s a ‘Jongin’? Is that a new class of angel?”

“I mean-” Jongin chokes, slowly inching backward, “that’s my name.”

“Cool,” the demon says solemnly. “My name is Kyungsoo. What class of angel are you?”

“Hi!” Jongin squeaks. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ll just be going!”

“Go where?” The demon suddenly leaps forward, his big eyes looming forward again. “You’re injured.”

Jongin squeaks again. 

“Come with me,” the demon says, extending out a pale, human-like hand. “Who knows if we’re still immortal on this plane?”

Jongin wishes he could faint, like humans tend to do, but because he doesn’t have that option, he has no choice but take the demon’s hands. 

Almost instantly he drops it, flinching back as if he was burnt. “You’re so cold!” Jongin exclaims in shock. 

“Thanks for noticing,” The demon answers drily, “Now can we get going?”

Jongin stands up on his own, and instantly hot, sharp pain shoots through his hipbone. The demon tilts his head to one side, then leaps over the debris, leaving Jongin to hobble behind.

Jongin briefly contemplates making a run for it, but the demon looks back every now and then, those nightmare eyes running up and down his body.

“Where are we going?” Jongin finally asks.

“Somewhere warmer,” The demon calls back, petulant, but his tail is already retracting, making him look like a regular human being. He just looks like one, Jongin reminds himself. He’s never one.

“Dude, it’s so warm here, can’t you feel the fires raging outside?” Jongin calls, before tripping over a rock and planting face first onto rumble.

“You’re pathetic,” Kyungsoo groans, but Jongin can feel him trotting back. Cold hands grab Jongin’s arm and he hisses out loud, but Kyungsoo just hauls him up and throws Jongin over his shoulder.

Well, fuck.

Jongin cannot say this is one of his best moments.

Jongin’s quite tall, and his bones are still broken, so it hurts like a bitch. Doesn’t help that his feet are literally dangling next to Kyungsoo’s crotch and Jongin has no intention of kicking demon balls, thank you very much. “You’re too slow,” Kyungsoo grunts.

Too ashamed to say anything, Jongin just lies limp on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. The demon is physically radiating cold air, but soon Jongin quickly gets accustomed to it. It’s not that much warmer in heaven anyway, being above the sun and all that. The archangel Michael used to joke to Jongin that only Hell’s fires could make them warm. That was before the Great Fall, anyway.

Michael had stopped making jokes after that. He and Raphael had been close to the three Fallen, after all. Five archangels, and only two were left. Heaven was never quite the same after that, but Jongin would rather sleep than be consumed by these distressing thoughts, most of the time.

Jongin's hand accidentally touches Kyungsoo's ass, and they both hiss loudly as if burnt. No one talks about it, though, Jongin just keeps his hands to himself and Kyungsoo just quickens his pace.

Kyungsoo carries him outside the building into an alleyway.

"This place stinks." Kyungsoo grimaces, "I can't wait to get back down."

He puts Jongin against the back of a building, and Jongin closes his eyes gratefully as his body fixes itself up.

"Is someone there?" Jongin's eyes snap open, and before he can react, Kyungsoo's wings snap up menacingly. A dark, muted red and lightly translucent, Jongin's eyes trace the black veins running through the demon's wings. On a closer look, Jongin can see the veins trembling slightly, as if having a life of its own, threatening to break through the faded red.

"Shit! I'm not- shit! Please don't kill me!" The voice breaks at the end, panicking and terrified.

"Wait here," Kyungsoo throws to Jongin, and Jongin's curiosity morphs into horror. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you think?" The demon snaps, whipping his head around to glare at Jongin.

And in the first time in his long life, Jongin is terrified. The demon's eyes have turned completely dark, the pallor of his skin turning an ashy gray. His tail has burst out and lengthened, the tip sharpened even further. He hasn't slipped into a complete demon form yet, but he's dangerous.

Demons are dangerous, it's one story the angels have heard over, and over, and over again.

Raphael used to say that a lot, like a mantra. Jongin never thought there was much conviction in his words, but it was something Raphael stood by. However, Jongin has no doubt that Kyungsoo could have just killed him, back in the cement rubble, or even right now.

"You can't do that!" Jongin argues, "They're defenseless humans, let them be!" Behind Kyungsoo, he can see a small head poking out from behind the trash cans. There's only one monster in this alleyway, here.

Jongin has seen many humans before, when he's been bored. There's only that much worship and sleeping he can do before he gets bored.

Humans, on the other hand, are so much more interesting. "Trust me." He tells Kyungsoo, "Humans are not our enemy."

The demon opens his mouth, as if to argue, but Jongin can see the black fading from his pupils, colour slowly returning to his face. "I'll go with you," Jongin reasons further, "If you let them go."

Kyungsoo's wings tremble slightly, seemingly with indignation, but Jongin can feel him softening.

"They'll draw attention." Kyungsoo growls out. "Which you can easily take care of." Jongin agrees.

Kyungsoo's wings quiver again, and they start to fold back in. By the time the demon has turned back into the Kyungsoo that Jongin knows, the human has already kicked the trashcan over and ran off, stumbling into the distance.

//

Kyungsoo curses under his breath. "I should have at least knocked him out." He tells Jongin.

“Dude, they’re humans,” The weird angel sighs, “They kill each other, they hurt each other, yes. But most of the time they’re just stupid.”

“You’re precisely here because humans threw stones at you,” Kyungsoo deadpans. The angel shrugs. “So what? They were just confused, lost. This must be like judgement day to them.”

Kyungsoo’s lips curl distastefully. “What would you know about judgement day?” He says bitterly, not really anticipating an answer.

Surprisingly, the angel’s eyes narrow. “You let sin overtake you,” He answers stiffly, “No amount of prayer can help an unwilling soul.”

They sit there for a while, the two of them, glaring at each other hatefully. An angel and a demon. Then something comes to Kyungsoo’s mind and he starts laughing.

“What?” The angel snaps.

“I made you angry, didn’t I?” Kyungsoo laughs, “I made you sin.”

The angel scowls. “Sin doesn’t work like that,” He says petulantly, “Only irreconcilable, unrepentant sin is punished.”

Kyungsoo hums, “I wonder what I did in my past life.”

“Look, why did you take me here?” The angel growls, “I gotta go back up.”

Kyungsoo smirks at hearing what he wants to hear.

“We can help each other, you and I,” He starts soothingly, “I need to get back down, you need to go back up. The demons have been no help in this area, so you angels are my best bet, but you need me to protect you.”

Jongin narrows his eyes. "I don't need you," He answers, "You, on the other hand, have no idea how to go back down."

"And you do?" Kyungsoo rebukes, getting terribly impatient with this angel, "Look, I don't know where to start. I can't imagine spending as much time with any other angel as I did with you, so you're the only one I can rely on. If you refuse - well, you're just tempting me to use force."

The angel stands up abruptly, anger etched in his features. Kyungsoo reaches a hand out, alarmed when the angel starts to wobble, his body clearly not ready.

"Are you threatening me, demon?" The angel says angrily, his wings spread. They are weak and grey, but Kyungsoo can find his own quivering in instinctive response. The air between them has turned sour, palpable.

Kyungsoo wants to leave, but he also has that lingering feeling that if, he leaves this angel, he'll regret it for the rest of his life.

"Yes," He croaks out, "I will kill you if you leave me."

"Why me?" The angel returns icily.

This angel is _impossible_. "Who else can I ask?" Kyungsoo roars.

”Oh,” The angel sudden smiles at him, illuminating his nicely sculpted features, “So you need me.”

“Yes.” Kyungsoo grounds out, turning his gaze away from the angel. Too bright, too beautiful.

“Let’s go, then,” The angel- Jongin chirps, “Where do we start?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t understand the sudden change in Jongin’s attitude, but he grudgingly admits, “I don’t know. I thought you would have an idea.”

The angel still has that stupid grin on his face. “You’re lucky I do,” He says, “Raphael just spoke to us angels, sent a message into our minds. He’s opened a church for angels to gather in. I’m sure he’ll have some answers.”

Kyungsoo frowns. More angels?

Jongin’s smirk widens, as if knowing what Kyungsoo is annoyed about.

//

Honestly, such an interesting demon. Jongin wants to lean forward and pinch the demon’s cheeks, like he would a cute cloud that passes by. The demon is clearly irritated, and he is doing a poor job of masking it.

“Come on,” Jongin teases, “That’s the only lead we have. If you want help from me, that’s where I’m taking you.”

The demon closes his eyes, and the hellish aura retracts. When Kyungsoo opens his eyes again, it is a normal, human black.

“Fine,” Kyungsoo huffs, wings folding into his back. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll tear you apart myself. Now where is this place?”

Jongin recites the address Raphael had been repeating in their mental connection to the demon. “If you know where, let’s go.” Kyungsoo frowns.

“Dude,” Jongin says, exasperated, “Do you not know how the human world works?”

The demon’s silence more than answers this question. “Let’s find a computer first.” Jongin sighs. Kyungsoo tilts his head in slight query.

Jongin sighs again. This is going to be a long day.

They do find an internet bar that’s still working. Kyungsoo’s trying hard not to look stupid, but in Jongin’s eyes, he is. Seriously, what do demons do in their spare time? Stare at fire and laugh evilly? Jongin already finds looking at the humans borderline boring, can’t believe the demons are even more boring than he is.

A keyboard is harder to use than what Jongin had expected it to be, but painstakingly, he types in the address and presses enter.

A pair of human boobs flashes in his face.

Jongin’s eyes hurts.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo wanders over when he sees Jongin recoil. The demon’s eyes widen even further as he takes in the image of the computer.

“Are those real?” The demon asks, poking at the monitor with a finger.

“No!” Jongin squeaks, turning his back to the computer.

“Wait, so human breasts do not look like this?” Kyungsoo asks, awe in his voice. “Wait, it’s moving. It’s asking me to turn on the volume. Where’s the volume?”

“Don’t!” Jongin squeaks louder, but in a sudden moment of brightness, Kyungsoo had actually figured out how to operate a human device.

A long, salacious, womanly moan fills the air.

Kyungsoo: Is she in pain?

Jongin: ;_;

They do figure out how to get the map out. According to the internet, walking would take 3 hours, and the sun is already at the brink of falling asleep.

“If only I could still fly.” Jongin grumbles, casting a disparaging look at his withered grey wings. The feathers are hanging loosely on the frame, as if a harsher blow of wind would make them all fall off.

“I can.” Kyungsoo cocks his head to a side, “And you’re not that heavy.”

Jongin gaped at the demon. “What?” Kyungsoo says defensively, “I’m saying you’re not that heavy, that’s all. Aren’t we in a hurry?”

We are? Jongin wants to ask, but Kyungsoo has already snapped an instruction for him to get on the demon’s back as Kyungsoo squats down.

“Wait, wouldn’t I crush your wings this way? You wouldn’t be able to flap them.” Jongin points out, his eyes landing on the curve of Kyungsoo’s ass.

“You’re right.” Kyungsoo says, standing up abruptly. Jongin bites back his groan of disappointment. “Would your arms break if I lifted you from the front?”

“Couldn’t you just- carry me?” Jongin spits out, exasperated, “Like, bridal style?”

“I don’t have the intention of marrying you.” Kyungsoo frowns. Jongin is this close to throwing his hands up in the air, asking for God to take him away, when he spots the glint in Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“Very funny.” Jongin scowls, and Kyungsoo bursts into laughter, the demon clutching his sides as he wheezes. “Come on, pigeon,” Kyungsoo says drily, “If we start now we can gain some hours of daylight.”

And there they go, weaving between the buildings, Jongin’s wings fluttering uselessly as he clings to Kyungsoo’s neck. The demon is small, but strong, and his arms wrap around Jongin’s waist and legs firmly in an iron grip. Jongin is terrified out of his mind, knowing that his wings can not carry him if he was to fall - but he never became afraid that Kyungsoo would drop him.

They stop in an abandoned apartment complex, flying in through an open window. The flat is an disorganized mess. “Hopefully the family living here is safe.” Jongin comments as he looks at the strewn toys all around the living room.

“Some humans have been through here already.” Kyungsoo says drily, gesturing to the busted lock on the front door. “Let’s just rest and wait for morning to come.”

With the fall of night, it seems as if the demons have become more rowdy. Jongin can hear their howls and calls. They are barbaric.

Neither of them actually need to sleep, so they just sit there in silence as they regain their energy. Jongin picks up three poodle plushies and cuddle them on the sofa. Kyungsoo leaves the living room briefly and returns with a huge blanket, which he wraps himself in like a burrito and he sits down with his back against the wall.

“I’m cold,” Kyungsoo suddenly mumbles. Jongin looks around, muttering, "There's nothing to start a fire with."

He looks back to the demon. He looks so tiny, leaning against the wall, buried under the blanket. "We could keep moving," Jongin finds himself saying, "I have enough power to light our path. If we keep moving we should be warming."

"Don't do that," Kyungsoo shakes his head, "Keep your power just in case, you might need it to go back up."

"It's alright," Jongin blurts out, "I-" He catches himself in the last moment and falls silent. There's an inherent part of him that doesn't trust a demon, but at the same time, Jongin doesn't know why he's still sticking this close.

He wasn't lying when he said he didn't need Kyungsoo, but there was something about Kyungsoo's request that made Jongin want to remain silent and follow him along. I'm being nice, Jongin repeats to himself mentally, Demon or no demon, angels should help everyone.

A strange thought flashes in his mind, and he shuffles closer to the angel, until their arms are touching.

"What are you doing?" Kyungsoo narrows his eyes. Adorable, Jongin thinks, just like one of those little hamsters humans keep in their homes. "Keeping you warm," he says with a straight face.

Kyungsoo's face darkens, and before Jongin can panic and say it's a joke, Kyungsoo sudden grabs Jongin's arm and slings it over his own shoulder, burrowing his own whole body in Jongin's lap. "This is how you keep someone warm, idiot." The demon mutters, but Jongin just grins.

See, Jongin _has_ made a right decision, staying with this demon.

//

The church was really not hard to find. Scarred and wounded, but still standing strong. Jongin and Kyungsoo had just followed the sound of the church bells tolling every hour.

There were a group of angels lounging at the park in front of the church, and they immediately stand up when Kyungsoo and Jongin emerge, staring at the two of them. More Kyungsoo, anyway. His steps falter, but Jongin looks to him and gives him a reassuring smile.

"You brought the demon, Jongin?" One of the angels ask, and Jongin nods. Kyungsoo observes that angels seem to know everyone, but he files that out of his mind at the suspicious looks the angels are throwing him.

"He can't be worse than the last one," Another angel shrugs, and some of them grunt in assent. Kyungsoo flinches instinctively at the thought of encountering another one of his kind, and he casts an uncertain look at Jongin.

"Who's in charge here?" Jongin asks, "I have some... questions."

 

The other angel frowns and stays silent for a long time, their eyes landing on Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo tries his best to pretend to be . "Raphael is here," one angel says at last, "You can go see him if you have... questions."

Nodding briskly, Jongin starts walking forward, but Kyungsoo's legs momentarily seize up at the other angels' gaze. Before he can react, there's something cold against his wrist, something soothing, and Jongin is dragging Kyungsoo forward, across the grassy meadow.

The other angels watch them leave.

The doors to the cathedral are already pushed open, and the pews are packed with humans.

"Are we in the right place?" Kyungsoo hisses, but Jongin continues to drag him along. Thankfully no one seems to notice his tail or wings, the humans engrossed in their praying.

Jongin leads them to the door leading to the private quarters of the cathedral.

Kyungsoo hisses at the cold draft, and he hugs himself as he scurries behind Jongin. He’s never been in a cathedral before, he’s never been in any sort of holy place. Hell, he has no recollection of the human realm, just vague concepts and ideas of human thoughts retained in his subconsciousness from when he had been an angel, privy to spy on the human world.

It must have been a boring life, or Kyungsoo wouldn’t have chosen to fall. When did he fall? Why did he fall? Whom did he fall with? These are questions Kyungsoo always asks himself, but there will never be any answers. They’re all locked inside his brain, forgotten from when he must have plunged off the forbidden cliff along with the other angels looking to fall.

Only three demons remember the fall. Beelzebub, Lucifer, and Leviathan, the three original fallen. They hadn’t jumped, they hadn’t fallen through the fabric of the three realms, losing their wings and holy aura as they burn up, becoming vulnerable as hell’s fires consume them, transforming them. Their angel part hadn’t been stripped away, leaving a skeleton for the demon part to take control.

Instead, the three archangels had been banished by God himself, their wings torn away, discarded. God had put them into hell as its first damned souls. They were the true half-angels, half-demons, the ones with both the power of God, as well as the power of Satan.

“Hello, Cherubim.” Kyungsoo jumps to see a tall, towering man approaching the two of them. “Raphael,” Jongin dips his head in greeting, and Kyungsoo pretends to be as tiny as he could be.

Raphael leads them to a room off the side. It’s a very simple pastor’s office, with a bare desk and half-filled shelves. Raphael gestures for both of them to sit across him. Behind Jongin, Kyungsoo looks Raphael up and down. 

For an angel of healing, Raphael looks quite dangerous. Chiseled features, golden hair, strong, bushy eyebrows... Kyungsoo shrinks further into the seat.

Besides, he feels very uncomfortable here. There’s a cross staring at him to the right of the room. Virgin Mary is judging him, burning holes into the back of his head.

He really wants to go and turn the cross upside down, but Raphael will probably smite him on the spot.

His attention snaps back to Jongin and Raphael when Jongin blurts out, “What are you doing here, Yifan?”

Raphael - Yifan shrugs. It’s a large, heaving motion, the angel’s white draft rustling with the act. It’s only now that Kyungsoo notices Yifan’s wings. Dry, brittle, grey and cracked, just like Jongin’s own. It can probably no longer hold their weight.

“Helping out the humans,” Yifan says. His voice is low and rumbles across the room. “The demons can’t leave the mortal plane. We need to stop them from attacking innocent humans.”

Kyungsoo shrinks back when Yifan’s pointed gaze lands on him.

A sudden poof, and Jongin clings to Kyungsoo for dear life with a loud “SHIT” when there’s suddenly a leather-clad, demon with crazy red hair behind Yifan.

“Lord Astaroth!” Kyungsoo immediately stutters out, reflexively wanting to stand and bow to the Higher demon, but Jongin’s too heavy.

“Yeah, yeah,” Astaroth waves a lazy paw around, “Call me Jongdae here, the angels like calling each other by their names. Hello Kyungsoo, hello little angel. Nice to meet you.”

“As you can see,” Yifan coughs delicately, but Kyungsoo can see a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks. “As you can see, demons are running amok. I’ve set up base here to coordinate the effort to-.”

Jongin’s grip on Kyungsoo’s arm tightens even more, and Kyungsoo turns in panic to see Jongin bowed over, eyes squeezed shut. “What’s wrong?” He asks frantically, pressing a hand to Jongin’s forehead. It comes away sweaty.

“Jongdae!” Yifan barks, and Kyungsoo looks back to see Jongdae standing next to the cross on the wall, only now it’s turned upside down.

“Alright, alright,” Jongdae scowls, and with another poof the cross is turned back to the Godly one. Kyungsoo feels faintly weak, but the immediate effect Satan’s cross had on Yifan and Jongin are still apparent. Yifan raises a hand to brush away sweat, and Kyungsoo notices a hand-shaped dent in the wood.

Nope.

“Are you here to join us, Jongin?” Yifan said, “I thought you would...”

“I’m here for Kyungsoo,” Jongin cuts Yifan off, “Do you know how to get a demon back into hell?”

“And how to get Jongin back into heaven,” Kyungsoo quickly adds. The strange looks Yifan and Jongdae reminds him that if the angels knew how to get back up, they’d already be gone.

Yifan leans back in his chair, his gaze shifting onto Jongdae.

“For the former question,” He says slowly, “It’s a bit complicated.”

A dramatic pause.

“Just hurry up with it, Yifan,” Jongdae groans.

“Lucifer needs to open the gate.” Yifan finishes. “Lucifer needs to open the gate to let the demons back in.”

Jongin and Kyungsoo exchange a horrified glance. How on earth do you persuade the King of the Underworld to do anything?

“But the old man isn’t, you’re missing the point,” Jongdae suddenly snaps, and with the next poof he’s sitting on the edge of the desk, ass in Yifan’s face. “Lucifer isn’t letting us in, because he wants us to carry out his work on earth - you should have heard his call."

"His call?" Jongin frowns, looking at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo fidgets, uncomfortable with Jongin's scrutinizing gaze. "His voice is here," he admits, "It's not- annoying, or loud, it's just there. He wants us to kill all humans."

Jongin sucks in a huge breath, and Kyungsoo turns his gaze back on the desk, only peeking at Jongin's reaction at the corner of his eyes.

"So that's why you-" Jongin starts, and Kyungsoo's head snaps up. "I know you didn't want to kill that human, Soo!" Jongin says brightly, patting Kyungsoo on the shoulder, "It must have been the devil who told you to do it!"

Why? Where? When?

Oh. That human, in the alleyway where Jongin and Kyungsoo first met?

Erm, yes. The devil told Kyungsoo to do it. Right.

It's just a tiny white lie, right? Anything for the wide smile on Jongin's face, brighter than Kyungsoo has ever seen.

"You're blushing." Jongdae says.

Astaroth or no Astaroth, Kyungsoo is very tempted to throw something into his face.

"Anyway," Yifan coughs again, "Let's get back to the topic. While Lucifer has... refused entrance, there is only one way you can bypass his control and return to hell."

Jongdae jumps off the desk and runs to grab an extra chair, pulling it up next to Kyungsoo.

"Have you heard of the Thrones?" Yifan asks, "They are the carriers of God’s thrones.”

“Minseok and Luhan?” Jongin frowns, “They’re both here, too?” To Kyungsoo, he explains, “Minseok and Luhan are twins. They can teleport anywhere they want, transcending time and space.”

“Not teleport,” Yifan shakes his head, “They can create portals through the fabric of creation that only they can step through. The only way their portals can accept anyone else is if Luhan and Minseok command it to.”

“That sounds relatively simple,” Kyungsoo murmurs.

“Relatively,” Yifan agrees, “Only no one knows where Luhan and Minseok are, right now. They can only create portals when they are together.”

“So...” Jongin says hesitantly, “Our best course of action is to find those two angels. Do you know where we start?”

It seems, to Kyungsoo at least, that their quest is just full of questions.

“I know where,” Jongdae pipes up from behind Kyungsoo. “Beelzebub came by a few hours ago, asking this same question. He has many followers - they will find those two angels in no time.”

“Wait, you told him what to do?” Yifan whirls around, “I told you not to tell him what to do!”

Jongdae shrugs. “He created me. Quite hard to say no to your creator, I can imagine.”

Yifan’s thick brows draw even closer together. “Well, now we know where to start!” Jongdae says cheerfully, and he grabs pen and paper and scribbles down an address. “That’s where he told us to go, if he had any information. Already a lot of demons are heading there to serve him. It’s about half a day’s flight for the two of you.”

Jongin tries to hide his grimace, but Kyungsoo catches it. Underneath the table, he covers Jongin’s hand with his own and squeezes it. The angel looks to him in alarm, and Kyungsoo smiles at him in a way he hoped would be reassuring.

Judging by Jongin’s shy smile, maybe it worked.

“SO!” Jongdae suddenly screams, making Kyungsoo jump and hit his knee on the table, “Off you go now. I need a word with Kyungsoo.”’

Yifan leans back on his chair. “This is my office, Astaroth.”

Jongdae huffs, and then with a poof, vanishes and appears right next to Kyungsoo, dragging him up forcefully. “Fine, Raphael. Rot here for all I care.” Jongdae spits, and before Kyungsoo can reassure Jongin, the two demons are transported to the corridor outside the office.

Almost instantly, Jongdae demands, “Why are you with that angel?”

“He was the only one I got.” Kyungsoo grumbles, “None of you were answering my calls.”

Jongdae sighs. “I didn’t want anyone to come here. Beelzebub's... Sehun’s... he’s planning something. He’ll start calling for everyone soon, and that angel... it’s best if you split ways soon.”

“He helped me get here,” Kyungsoo says quietly, “I should help him too.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes as he ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair. “He doesn’t need your help, your angel. But I can see that you will insist.

“All these angels here are hiding something from me,” Jongdae continues, “Perhaps angels are more complex creatures than we thought, Kyungsoo. Be on guard. And if all things fail-” Jongdae presses a wooden cross into Kyungsoo’s hands. “Remember, the upside-down cross affects them far more than the proper one does to us. Use it.”

“Why?” Kyungsoo blurts out again.

“Angels... they are filled with God’s grace,” Jongdae says, “God’s grace is inherently incompatible with Satan. Us? It doesn’t matter to us at all. We have no more grace inside us.”

Expression solemn, Jongdae reaches a hand out to ruffle Kyungsoo's hair. "If you choose to walk with angels, Kyungsoo, you must always be on guard."

"Jongin's not dangerous." Kyungsoo automatically argues, albeit weakly.

"Of course he's not," Jongdae says, to Kyungsoo's surprise, "It's you who I'm worried about. Be careful, little demon."

//

“He didn’t look very... Raphael to me.” Kyungsoo mutters, as soon as they settle in a large empty flat near the church.

“He doesn’t,” Jongin agrees, “Inside, Yifan’s just a huge big teddy bear.”

“Doesn’t look like one,” Kyungsoo grimaces, “Seems like he’d be more likely to kill me than heal me.”

“He wasn’t this stoic before,” Jongin says, “But then- well, the Fall happened, and it really affected...”

“The Fall affected the angel of healing?” Kyungsoo frowns, clearly confused.

“It affected Michael,” Jongin says, “Michael - well, he was the opposite of Raphael. They were... brothers, but opposites, in all areas. Michael became different, after the Great Fall. Raphael had to take over a lot of his duties, because Michael became obsessed with demons. Well- you’d probably still be around to know what happened to Michael.”

“Probably,” Kyungsoo shrugs, “I can’t remember anything.”

Jongin eyes his companion. “Do you regret it?” He blurts out, “Falling.”

“No,” Kyungsoo’s sharp response makes Jongin wince slightly, “How can I regret something I don’t remember? You angels and all your rules and constraints. Us demons aren’t affected by any God, any religious symbol.”

The fire crackles louder.

“What is heaven like, Jongin?” Kyungsoo asks.

Jongin squints. How do you explain the sky to someone who’s lived his entire life underground?

“Actually, don’t tell me.” There’s something unreadable in Kyungsoo’s eyes and emotionless features. Jongin momentarily wants to go over and hug the demon, but how could an angel and a demon ever mingle?

Jongin opens his mouth to speak, but then Kyungsoo raises a hand. “Do you hear it?” He asks sharply, and a violent shiver rips through Jongin. He shakes his head wordlessly, but Kyungsoo stands up, cautious and alert. The tips of his wings are quivering.

Then Jongin hears it - a scream, a cry of help.

“Come closer to me,” Kyungsoo orders, but before he finishes saying that Jongin is already scrambling to where Kyungsoo is. The demon grabs Jongin by the elbow, his eyes darting around dangerously.

There’s another cry, it’s getting louder.

Kyungsoo shuffles towards the window, Jongin still in his grip. Jongin can’t see anything from where he stands, but he can hear Kyungsoo suck in a huge breath. He wants to ask Kyungsoo what’s going on, but he’s afraid of even making a single noise.

“Let’s go,” Kyungsoo finally says, “They’ll draw attention to us.”

“What’s happening?” Jongin croaks out at last, “Who is it?”

Kyungsoo gives Jongin another worried glance. Jongin doesn’t much like that look on his face, so he reaches a hand out to squeeze Kyungsoo’s free hand, reassuring him. “We should leave,” Kyungsoo says, but his feet are clearly rooted in place.

“Let me see,” Jongin insists, and Kyungsoo’s grip on him releases. Casting the shellshocked Kyungsoo a last worried glance, Jongin steps forward and looks out the window, and sucks in a huge breath as his gaze falls upon the carnage happening below.

Jongin has never seen an angel bleed before, but it is instinct that screams in Jongin’s mind, telling him _this is angel blood_.

It fills the alley, tendrils of it creeping up like a suffocating lasso. Only by standing here, Kyungsoo’s hand in his own, is Jongin now plummeting to his own death.

There is a graveyard of angels down there, and the air is filled with the smell of their blood.

Kyungsoo drags Jongin backwards, and the spell breaks. “There’s something down there,” Jongin says, but his voice is caught, “I saw something.”

“A human enchantment,” Kyungsoo’s voice is feathery and light, “Holy water mixed with demon blood. Impure and defiling.”

“How can you tell?” Jongin croaks out.

“I am a demon,” Kyungsoo says matter of factly, “I am not affected by measly human enchantments, least of all those based on faith. Any sort of enchantment or ritual based on faith cannot hold me.”

What can? Jongin doesn’t ask this aloud, but Kyungsoo seemingly plucks the question out of empty air. “Only witchcraft bounds us,” Kyungsoo explains, “Witches are the only ones whose magic comes not from faith, but from themselves. But there are no more witches left in the world, except for God.”

“Soo...” Jongin sighs, momentarily tired of this.

“It was just a joke,” Kyungsoo suddenly grins, and Jongin is caught off guard by the cute little heart shape that his lips form when he does that. Before he can reach a finger out and touch it, a commotion attracts Kyungsoo’s attention.

They look out the window. First mistake, because as soon as they poke their heads out, an arrow goes flying, and it strikes Kyungsoo right in the wing. The demon howls in pain, hellish fire rushing out immediately, and before Jongin can grab him, Kyungsoo has launched himself into the sky.

Panicking, Jongin dashes down the steps of the building, side-stepping some corpses that he had not noticed before.

He rushes into the alley, and Kyungsoo is crumpled at the feet of three hulking humans.

//

“Oy. Wake up.”

Kyungsoo separates his eyes with effort. The bed is so cold... so good... He presses himself as close as possible to the soft fabric beneath him.

“HEY”

Kyungsoo’s eyes snap open, and he immediately jumps into a defensive stance. His eyes spin wildly around the room, where the fuck is Jongin?

“Look at me.” Someone snaps, and Kyungsoo refocuses on a taller demon - Oh Sehun. 

Kyungsoo had only seen Sehun from afar before, only fleetingly, but now, in front of Sehun, he can immediately tell they’re the same demon. At then, he had only known Sehun as Beelzebub, one of the original fallen. 

Up close, the demon looks no less imposing. Retaining much of his appearance as an angel, Sehun’s face has an almost ethereal glow, but one that is tainted, darkened. His eyes are pitch black, glinting eerily under the light of the room. From his black hair sprouts two large horns.

Sehun’s wings are on full display - opposed to the regular, leather, bat-like wings that Kyungsoo has, Sehun’s giant wings unfurl like cockroach wings, shiny, translucent, but reminds Kyungsoo of all things ugly.

So. Fucking. Cool.

“Be nice, Sehun. The poor boy just got attacked.”

Kyungsoo looks to the bed right behind Sehun, and he sucks in another huge breath.

A creature with the face of an angel, with only a skeleton left for wings, sitting up on the bed. Porcelain skin an unearthly pale, his eyes flickering between red and black with every blink. A half-angel, a half-demon, a half-life. A being that had taken hell’s fire into his veins without burning up his angel part through falling.

A being that had not chosen to jump off the forbidden cliff, who still retained his God-given grace while having demon blood running through his veins. 

But what kind of being would choose such a fate?

“Soo!” Kyungsoo whips around, and Jongin crashes straight into him. The angel is mumbling something beneath his breath, quick and rapid, but all Kyungsoo can catch is “thank god” and “fuck”.

Thank Kyungsoo, not God.

“Are you hurt?” Kyungsoo blurts out, before colouring at how stupid his question is. He’s an angel, even if he did get hurt his wounds would have already been healed.

But Jongin doesn’t seem to mind and is grinning like an idiot.

A child really. Are all angels this beautiful?

“Alright, alright, I got something to say.” Sehun huffs, seemingly annoyed that he’s being ignored by Kyungsoo and Jongin. “I will take care of you at nightfall. Yixing, lie back down, I can take care of them myself.”

Still weak, Kyungsoo lets himself slump against Jongin’s shoulder. “Kyungsoo, this is Beelzebub and... Yixing.” Jongin explains, “They took us in when you were out. He said... he’s already got Minseok and Luhan.”

Kyungsoo sucks in a huge breath 

“Yes, yes,” Sehun waves his hands impatiently, but Yixing - poor, wretched creature - lays a gentle hand on Sehun’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this alone, Sehun.” Yixing murmurs, and Kyungsoo wonders again why he would choose to become a demon.

Kyungsoo watches as Sehun visibly relaxes under the half-angel’s touch. “You’re right,” The demon lord says aloud, “I will let you return to hell, Kyungsoo, if you will fight for me in the upcoming war I will wage against Lucifer.”

Kyungsoo glances at Jongin, and the angel nods reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the angel as well.” Sehun sighs, but Kyungsoo can hear the hate buried in ill-feigned nonchalance.

“We’re here for Luhan and Minseok,” Kyungsoo says quickly, “We just want to go back to where we came from.”

“Don’t worry,” Sehun repeats, walking away from the bed-bound Yixing. “But first, we take care of your angel.”

//

When Kyungsoo falls, Jongin lets shock overtake him. The demon had always been so strong and reliable, even though looking small and cute. And to imagine, that _humans_ could knock demons out.

“Wake up, Soo!” He pleads, shaking the demon’s motionless body, “Kyungsoo!”

“There’s no use,” One of the humans jeers, “That’s the finest holy water money can buy. Now be a pretty little thing and stay put.”

Holy water don’t affect demons at all, or Michael could have just won his wars by shitting on demons. Then Jongin’s gaze lands on the protective amulet hanging on the man’s neck, and he realizes what has happened.

Witches may no longer exist, but google does.

His grip on Kyungsoo tightens as the humans advance. This is his last breath, Jongin realizes. He desperately wants to lash out, to destroy, but the blood inside him forbids him from doing that.

Truly, Jongin curses his identity as an angel. It’s not Kyungsoo who needs him - he needs Kyungsoo, too. In this dark, vulnerable world that Jongin is exposed to, he needs Kyungsoo.

And right now, he can’t do anything for both of them. He cradles Kyungsoo closer and spreads his wings. He flaps them, but more feathers fall off. The mortal realm is not where he should be, and this is God’s way of reminding him.

But Jongin tries again, tries to lift Kyungsoo up and fly away with him, but the harder he tries, the more his wings grumble and scream, and the humans are laughing at him.

“Look at the poor, pathetic, creature of God.” The man in front grins, “Where is he now, hmm? Where is your master, your saviour?”

Jongin cowers, the malice in the humans’ eyes frightening him. What had he done, what had Kyungsoo done? Why were these humans, God’s lovely creations, trying to kill them? Were they not made in the image of God? How has sin corrupted them so?

He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to send one last message to Yifan.

 _Humans are dangerous._ he forces out mentally, _Beware._

He doesn’t wait for Yifan’s reply.

Then there are three black shadows behind the humans’ back, and Jongin screams out, “Careful!”

He’s not sure who he’s shouting it too.

One of the demons stagger as soon as the human with the witch’s enchantment turns around, but the other two seem to be of a higher level, shaking the spell off and lunging at the humans.

It is over in a matter of seconds, and blood sprays all over Jongin and Kyungsoo.

The first demon that had also fallen to the witch’s enchantment now staggers up, fixing Jongin with a surprised stare. “Get Kyungsoo,” The other demon instructs him, “Angel, follow me. Lord Beelzebub is waiting.”

“Where are you taking us?” Jongin asks, his hands tightening around Kyungsoo’s motionless body. “Not your place to ask, pigeon,” The third demon spits, licking human blood off his large, wolf-like claws.

One of the demons wrenches Kyungsoo from Jongin’s grip and throws the prone body over his shoulder like a rucksack. The three demons turn their backs to Jongin, prowling off.

Jongin scuttles behind them, watching Kyungsoo’s arms swaying left, and right, left, and right, like a hypnotizing pendulum.

The demons lead him to a large country house, quite apart from the rest of the settlements. Jongin’s feet are getting a bit painful from all the walking he’d been doing, but the demon’s gait does not slow, they do not turn around, so Jongin forces himself to follow.

The person that meets them at the door makes Jongin’s eyes widen in shock, and he trips over the verenda and sprawls onto the ground.

“Why are you still so clumsy, Jongin?” Yixing laughs, but before the angel- the an- the- before Yixing can help him up, one of the demons have grabbed Jongin’s arm and tugged him up roughly, claws cutting into Jongin’s skin slightly, and Yixing steps back.

“Take Kyungsoo to the infirmary,” Yixing says quietly, “Sehun wants to see Jongin in the living room.”

The demon’s nod respectfully, and Jongin swallows back his shock. “I want to talk to you, Yixing.” He says firmly, but his old friend shakes his head. “Not now, Jongin. Important things first. Speak with Sehun.”

The demon tugs on Jongin’s harder and he’s forced to go along if he doesn’t want to fall onto his feet. They drag him up the stairs, and pushes him into a large empty room that must have been something like a nursery, judging by the cute animal stickers that decorate the room, as well as the pastel colour scheme.

There are two cots in the small room. Kyungsoo is sleeping on one of them, demonic characteristics on full display. He’s a reddish black figure swallowed by the shadow of his wings, quivering with every breath he takes.

“Nice to meet you,” Another voice drawls, tearing Jongin’s eyes away from Kyungsoo. “My name is Sehun.”

The man that had spoken looks young, but that is unmasked strength in his posture and the way he fills his buttoned up white shirt. He is a demon, trying to be human. He is sitting in the only chair in the room.

“Hi.” Jongin replies timidly. The corner of Sehun’s eyes crinkle with mirth.

“I know what you desire, little Cherubim.” Sehun drawls, and Jongin is not surprised that Sehun had seen right into his true identity. Cherubims are powerful, but Sehun was, after all, an archangel, and Cherubims are still one rank below them.

“You are here for Luhan and Minseok.” Sehun continues, “You wish that I will tell you where to find them.”

Jongin nods briskly. “But first, tell me this - why are you here?” Sehun frowns, “Actually- perhaps I should tell you what you are here for.”

It is not just mirth in Sehun’s eyes, now. It is anger, virile and filling.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Sehun continues, “The self-proclaimed protectors of mankind, hmm? Do you plan to gain Raphael’s favour with this?”

“Wh- what are you talking about?” Jongin asks, alarmed.

“One of my demons is particularly skilled here.” Sehun jabs at his head, “They intercepted a message you sent out to Raphael. That’s where we knew where to look for you. What did you send him, hmmm?”

“No!” Jongin throws out, but he can’t bring himself to admit what he had sent the other angel. It seemed shameful, ironic, _sinful_ , even, to tell it to Sehun.

“I know how Raphael thinks,” Sehun spits, his face still the same, but momentarily maturing, becoming more dangerous. “I won’t let you sneak into the portal with us. I won’t let you destroy hell.

“And the audacity of you!” Sehun stands up suddenly, making Jongin stagger back until his back hits the wall. “ _Using_ Kyungsoo to achieve your purposes - do you know no shame?”

“I’m not!” Jongin gasps out, but that seems to anger the demon even further, and Jongin can only watch in horror as Beelzebub starts to come through, his human persona ripped to shreds. Red, angry eyes take form, horns tearing into existence. Translucent wings, ugly, vile, yet hypnotizing at the same time.

“You angels and your stupid, self-entitled quest to defend humans. Humans are sinful creatures,” Sehun growls, “They will be condemned anyway, they will go to hell anyway.”

“That’s not true!” Jongin rebukes angrily, suddenly finding his voice, “By killing them prematurely, you took away their chance to redeem themselves, and have their sins forgiven!”

“And why should they?” Sehun suddenly stands up, startling Jongin. The demon’s forked tail unfurls dangerously. “Why should these _scum_ go to heaven?”

“Because they are loved,” Jongin returns, deep sorrow in his voice, “Because God loves everyone.”

“No he doesn’t,” Sehun spits through his teeth, “He doesn’t love me.”

“Maybe he did,” Jongin murmurs. He could not fathom how Sehun could say something like that with such certainty, with such rejection. Angels, demons - they were all creations of God. At least, Kyungsoo had never said anything like that. 

“Maybe he did,” Sehun says testily, “That’s none of my business.”

“You never asked.” Jongin answers.

Sehun is silent for a long while, and the red in his pupils recede.

“I already have Luhan and Minseok.” He says finally. “I have already-”

Two demons blast through the door of the infirmary, a stretcher between them. On it lays Yixing, eyes closed, veins popping from his pale skin, muscles bunched up, tense.

Jongin watches as Sehun’s demeanor falls immediately, icy cold expression cracking into one filled with concern and affection.

 _There._ He looks more human now.

“My lord, we can not wait any longer.” One of the demons say, pointedly ignoring Jongin as he puts Yixing onto one of the cots. “We must open the portal soon, Lord Yixing cannot stay on the mortal plane any longer, he must receive hell’s fire - or he will die.”

On the other side of the room, Kyungsoo begins to stir.

//

“But first,” Sehun drawls, “We take care of your angel.”

Kyungsoo recognizes the malice, the danger, too late. His dulled senses renders him an audience to the sight of Sehun barrelling straight into Jongin, knocking the wind out of the fragile angel.

Jongin’s eyes are widening, tears leaking out in pain.

When Kyungsoo’s “No!” rings across the room, Sehun has his claws around Jongin’s throat, pinning him against the walls.

Blood red eyes, much brighter than Kyungsoo’s own, bear down on the lesser demon.

“Give me a reason why I should let this angel go.” Sehun drawls, “His purpose is done. You, Kyungsoo, are you return to me with hell to fight a war. This little traitor angel, he will go running straight to his beloved archangel, and he will kill us all. Don’t you see it, Kyungsoo? He’s just been using you all along!”

“No!” Kyungsoo repeats vehemently. Of course, what Sehun said might be true - but Kyungsoo - Kyungsoo knows that’s not the case. He trusted Jongin, unconditionally.

“Why?” Sehun asks, but Kyungsoo doesn’t answer him. The other demon’s eyes narrow, and then realization dawns upon him.

“I see how it is,” Sehun breathes out, “You, a lowly demon, are in love with Cherubim!”

And at that point, air is also knocked out of Kyungsoo’s lungs. 

Love is such a foreign concept to demons, after all. Sin is all they have known.

But Jongin- Jongin is different. Jongin isn’t like the other angels, isn’t like the other demons. Jongin is unique.

“Let Jongin go!” Kyungsoo snarls, but Sehun’s grip only tightens. Black lines are already running against Jongin’s throat, and the desperation in his eyes makes Kyungsoo’s heart shatter.

Kyungsoo digs in his pockets for a weapon, anything, and then his fingers wrap around a small wooden object.

He pulls it out, and his eyes immediately draws him to the bed at the corner, Yixing watching the scene unfold in front of him with a calm grimace.

“Let’s stop wasting time,” Sehun drawls, “He’s just using you, Kyungsoo. He’s going to let you down. He’s going to run back to Raphael, and you’re going to live forever knowing that he’s taken everything you’ve given him and is living his own happy life.

“Let go of Jongin,” Kyungsoo growls again, pulling the cross out, “Or else-”

Another black line emerges, and Kyungsoo turns the cross upside down.

Jongin whimpers and collapses on the marble as soon as Sehun lets go, the demon dashing to the side of the cot. Luhan and Minseok are huddled on the ground, small bodies quivering. On the cot- on the cot, the half-angel, half-demon screams, his angelic side no longer able to protect him, his demon side not enough to do so instead.

Maybe Kyungsoo had screamed like that, too, when he had fallen through the veil between heaven and hell.

Kyungsoo quickly flips the cross back the right way, and the screaming stops mid-way, left with the sounds of a drowning man gasping for breath.

The next second, Kyungsoo’s head is slammed onto the marble pillars, and the whole building shakes momentarily with the force of it.

“I’ll kill you!” Sehun roars, black mist curling around his complete demonic form. Red claws dig into Kyungsoo’s throat, choking the pained screams alive as Kyungsoo’s blood boils with hell’s fire. At the corner of his vision, he can see Jongin crawling across the marbled floor, black blood leaving a trail across the whiteness of it. 

Kyungsoo wants Jongin to stay away, wants to warn him, but Beelzebub slams Kyungsoo’s head into the marble once again, before throwing him onto the floor. There’s a faint crack in the marble, and Kyungsoo’s vision is blurred when Sehun crouches in front of him. “But I shouldn’t.” Sehun says, eerily calm, “Yixing says we need to be focused on bigger things. The bigger thing is - I will replace the sniveling coward Lucifer. I will rule over all demons, and you- you will be one of my subjects.”

Kyungsoo coughs and pushes himself up, watching Sehun storm out of the room. There’s a light touch on his back, and he turns to see Jongin in the same sorry state Kyungsoo is in.

“Go check on Yixing.” Jongin mouths. Kyungsoo hesitates, his arms quivering with strain, but Jongin repeats his request. Nauseous, Kyungsoo stumbles towards the cot again.

The creature is lying on the bed, his eyes glassy, yet still kind and understanding when Kyungsoo approaches him. Silently, he gestures for Kyungsoo to help him sit up on the mattress, and the demon obeys.

“That’s the fifth shirt he’s ruined,” Yixing sighs, “And this one looked so good on him, too. What a pity.” A faint silent falls as Yixing looks fondly at where Sehun had left, and Kyungsoo finally musters up his strength to open his mouth, to apologize, but no words came out. 

“It’s alright,” Yixing says, turning back around to face Kyungsoo. A slender, brittle hand comes up to pet Kyungsoo’s hair lightly - it is eerily cold to touch. “In your shoes, I would have done the same.”

Kyungsoo sneaks another glance to Jongin. The angel’s struggling to pull himself against the wall, trying to lean against it.

“I love him?” Kyungsoo poses a question, but both of them already know the answer.

“Just as your angel loves you.” Yixing reaffirms.

“How?” Kyungsoo blurts out as he sees Jongin finally finding a comfortable position to sit in, his eyes closed as the lines on his neck pinks and fades.

“Your angel,” Yixing inclines his head, “Sehun’s an idiot. He obviously loves you as well. Why would he choose to accompany you on your quest?”

“Ch-choose?” Kyungsoo stutters out. The corner of Yixing’s eyes crinkle with mirth. “He didn’t even tell you then, did he? Unlike Lucifer, God has opened the doors for the angels from the very first day,” He says gently, “It is up to angels to answer his call. I didn’t, and now I am abandoned by him for obvious reasons. Raphael- Yifan and his angels only stay here because they wanted to protect the humans. Jongin- I’d think it’s rather clear why he stays here.

“Although, I am not sure if God will let Jongin, or even Yifan back in.” Yixing continues, “God is a very... possessive deity. He has to be the first in your life. For Jongin, you are. For Yifan, the humans are.”

Kyungsoo blinks, a sudden warmth in his heart. “And Sehun is yours.”

“Sehun is mine,” Yixing agrees, “No matter what he is, I will follow him. Now- I can feel it already. The portal is being opened. Go to your angel.”

As if on cue, the doors to the infirmary opened again, and two demons came to carry Yixing out.

“Five minutes.” One demon tells Kyungsoo, “Be outside. On time.”

When they’re gone, Kyungsoo rushes to Jongin’s side, falling onto his knees next to the angel.

Jongin’s eyes crack open.

//

“You love me?” is the first thing Jongin asks. It feels right to ask that question.

Kyungsoo nods shyly.

“Thank you.” Jongin replies, and before Kyungsoo’s crestfallen expression can settle, he quickly adds, “I love you too.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. Those eyes that had terrified Jongin at first - they were now the most beautiful pair of eyes he had seen.

“I didn’t want to tell Sehun, just now, because I felt like that’d look like me lying to you just to save myself,” Jongin murmurs, “I like you too, Kyungsoo. It’s not just you. No- it’s not just you in love. I’m in love too.”

“Let’s leave.” Kyungsoo blurts out, “Let’s run away and hide.”

What? Jongin frowns, “How?”

“You- you know the human stuff,” Kyungsoo is beginning to ramble now, “I can- get my hands on stuff, witchcraft, hide us, make us human-”

Full lips press onto Jongin’s own, Kyungsoo pouring his desperation, his plea, his _adoration_ , just for Jongin.

They are both inexperienced, and their teeth clash, but to Jongin, this is heaven. 

“Sehun will kill us, you promised him.” Jongin gasps out, tearing his lips away from Kyungsoo’s.

“May- maybe Lucifer will win, and he could hardly care less about someone like me, and-”

“Of course Sehun will win,” Jongin rolls his eyes, “He has Michael by his side, after all.”

Wa- wait, what?

“Yixing is Michael? _The_ Michael, the commander of God’s armies? _Yixing_?” Kyungsoo stutters out.

“I told you Raphael and Michael are opposites,” Jongin shrugs, “Besides, Michael and Beelzebub's love story... let’s just say it didn’t start here, in the mortal world. They’re very alike, aren’t they?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Kyungsoo says firmly, “This is our story, not their’s.”

“Michael and Beelzebub waited for centuries-”

“But I don’t want to wait for centuries,” Kyungsoo blurts out, “I’m not strong enough.”

Jongin takes a step forward, pressing their foreheads together. “I trust you, Kyungsoo,” He breathes out, “Do you trust me too?”

“I do,” Kyungsoo nods vigorously, “But if there is a chance - I want to take it now. Who knows when we'll ever have a chance to be like Michael and Beelzebub? What if we never get the chance?”

“God and Beelzebub will kill us if they find out,” Jongin breathes out, “It’ll be our only chance.”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says, “Worst case scenario, we’ll just meet each other after death.”

Jongin laughs, one that shakes both of them at the same time. “Do you think God and Beelzebub will let us meet one another even after death?”

Then Kyungsoo starts laughing too, and the two of them just cling to one another, until there is no more air in their lungs.

“It’s cold here, on the mortal plane,” Jongin says.

“Will you keep me warm, then?”

“As long as you’ll have me.”

“For eternity?”

“Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for exogeddon fest! Such a lovely fest really, thank you so much mods for holding the fest AND giving me extension after extension after extension QAQ I love the prompt so much QAQ Much love to my betas E and B, much much much love to my darling beta for putting up with my midnight rants about the world - and gosh this world really is one of my most favourite. I'd love to do more with it in the future - put back the Suchanbaek scene that wasn't really going anywhere - and perhaps continue writing Hunlay and Kaisoo's ending.


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